If you've browsed around the site lately, it's easy to see we are full swing into our Holiday Spirit: Santa is Rock'n Out with his BlackBerry on the CrackBerry.com logo, the 12 Days of CrackBerry Holiday Giveaway is open for entry and is offering a whopping 78 prizes to be won (BlackBerry Accessories, Software and even a new BlackBerry!) and now we're kicking up the holiday cheer even more with CrackBerry.com's Free Holiday BlackBerry Theme and Wallpapers.

A big thanks to James and Artem for getting this new theme together. I'm loving the Holiday Zen theme on my Curve! We have it available for the BlackBerry Curve, Pearl, 88xx and 8700 series smartphones. I was testing/showing off the theme this weekend at some Christmas parties and it got LOTS of oooos and awwwws and I want thats!!! Hopefully for next year we'll have it for the new Dimension L theme that's becoming quite popular.

Keep in mind that while we have tested out the CrackBerry Holiday Theme on many BlackBerry devices and varying models, we make no guarantees to it on every device. You should only install the theme if you are comfortable with the process. Be sure to look at the OS version on your device and requirements below before proceeding. Don't install the theme unless you meet the requirements. We had the 8700 theme available for download, but it looks like a few people didn't check their OS (had an older version) and tried downloading and ran into some trouble. I've pulled the 8700 link to ensure this doesn't happen. If you have an 8700 and would like the theme, once you have confirmed your OS you can email me and I will send you the download link.

BlackBerry OS Minimum Requirements:

BlackBerry Pearl = 4.2.1

BlackBerry Curve = 4.2.2

BlackBerry 8800 = 4.2.1

BlackBerry 8830 = 4.2.2

BlackBerry 8700 = 4.2.1

If you are unsure of which OS version your device has, you may check by hitting Alt - Caps - H on your keyboard. This will launch the Help Me! screen and your App Version will be listed. Be sure you meet the requirements!

Over the Air Installation:
On your BlackBerry smartphone, open the web browser. Visit the appropriate link for your BlackBerry Device model. Sorry about the long URLS, be sure to type carefully and it is case sensitive (put a capital C and B in the CrackBerry.jad):

Pearl: http://crackberry.com/files/themes/pearl/CrackBerry.jad

Curve: http://crackberry.com/files/themes/curve/CrackBerry.jad

8800: http://crackberry.com/files/themes/8800/CrackBerry.jad

8830: http://crackberry.com/files/themes/8830/CrackBerry.jad

8700: email kevin at crackberry.com and "Request 8700 Theme"

Please note your handheld may need to reboot after the theme is installed. To activate your theme once the handheld has rebooted, go to Options > Theme and select CrackBerry. Keep in mind that when you install a new theme, the shortcuts will return to their default (original order/not hidden). You will want to take a minute to organize the layout of shortcuts on your background. To do this simply go to the Application screen and click the menu/option button on the shortcuts you want to Move/Hide. From there you can easily reoder the layout of icons (make your most used apps the first four). Enjoy your new theme!!

BlackBerry Desktop Manager Installation:While I prefer installing everything over the air, if you don't have a data plan you can also install via BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Click the links below to download the .zip folder. Once on your computer, unzip the file, connect your BlackBerry to the computer via usb, open BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and use the Application Loader to load the CrackBerry.alx file to your device. Please take note of the OS requirements above.

If you don't want to change up your whole theme but want to give your BlackBerry the CrackBerry.com Holiday look, you can download our CrackBerry snowman and snowflake backgrounds from the CrackBerry.com Wallpaper Gallery.

It looks like we have a couple of Christmas Ringtones in our user-contributed Ringtone Gallery. Tis the season, if you have anymore Holiday ringtones and want to share them with the CrackBerry community be sure to submit them to the site!

Reader comments

I have a verizon 9330 Curve and I've d-loaded it twice. Well tried anyways. I can find it anywhere on my bb. It doesn't show as a theme in my list. I've rebooted both times after installation-- and suggestions?

This was such a great theme and sadly looks like it has been long abandoned. It won't work on just about any new blackberry. Somewhere I have the original file. I wonder if I could load it up, strip all the icons out, and try to redo it for a modern phone and OS?

Since i don't have a data plan (yet), i tried to install via the desktop manager (I downloaded the CURVE theme). It unzips the required .alx file, then i install,with the add/remove applications tool and then it says : Succesfull. My BB reboots, but i don't find any theme in my BB. Suggestions ? I already installed a Starcraft theme, Can there be only 2 themes ? (Srry for crappy english, i'm from belgium)

I am new to Blackberrys and was so glad to find this site!!! I just downloaded this theme and it works great, thanks! It took about 1 minute total to get everything done. Thanks again, and happy holidays!!!

I was able to wirelessly download the theme to my 8320 by sending the link to an email address on the handset rather easily. I had no trouble with the install and have to say it is quite creative, so nice work. BUT when I DL'd the theme for my wife's Pearl by typing in the URL it is not appearing as an option in the theme menu. I did try rebooting as well to no avail. Any ideas?

you problably didn't read the instructions in the blog post. with themes you always have to make sure you have the proper os version. guessing your 8703 had OS 4.1 and you tried installing without looking. rookie mistake

I'm sure the other comment is spot on. You likely hadn't updated your OS to 4.2.1 and and we're running 4.1. That sucks. I thought I made it pretty clear in the blog post to make sure you met the OS requirements before installing the theme. Apologies if that wasn't the case and for the hassle caused. I guess it's an easy thing to not pay attention to when you want to get a theme installed (I made the same mistake once before!).

I pulled the 87xx download link as soon as I saw one user get affected by this. If it happened once, I don't want to see that happen again to someone else.

I've had about 50 requests today for the 8700 theme get emailed to me (many for the 8703) and it seems to be working beautifully for everyone. We've had hundreds of others download the theme for the other phone versions and everything is good to go there too. Just check that your OS meets the minimum requirements!

As for the BlackBerry, you can always fix it. I posted the instructions on how to fix it in the comments further down. You can always save it. Might take an hour or two of your time. BUT... silver lining...as much I loved my 8700, upgrading to a newer BlackBerry is never a bad thing!

The 8700 theme is/was working fine, so long as you installed on the proper OS per the instructions in the blog post.

This is always the risk with themes - you need to check the details before you install. If you find yourself in a permanent reboot sequence, it likely means you didn't check the OS requirements (or did and installed anyways) and didn't meet the requirements.

Not the best situation. It's one that probably every BlackBerry user faces at some point if they start installing/buying themes. Apologies that it happened here if it did. Not the intent! Gotta read the instructions. But if you are finding yourself in a reboot, you can be back up and running fairly quick:
- Try a Battery Pull First - it may fix the problem
- If you're finding yourself in the same situation, try connecting to your computer via USB. If your USB stays connected, you can reload your OS and you'll fixed.
- If you find your BlackBerry is in a constant reboot cycle and therefore won't stay connected to the USB (it connects, disconnects, etc.), then you'll need to reload the OS by following the instructions at this link:http://blackberryfaq.com/index.php/What_to_do_next_if_Jl_Cmder_will_not_...

I've pulled the 8700 theme for now, as it seems this is where a couple of people have run into problems - they are not running an updated OS and are running into problems (the OS the device shipped with is probably not the same as the required version stated above).

OK, I replaced the Pearl theme with an updated version. The date WAS showing correctly (technically), you just couldn't see it. The text box/display area wasn't quite big enough for the double digit dates.

Sorry for the inconvenience, should be fine now. At least the price is right! :)

I have had my blackberry 8830 for a couple of months and still exploring, I have tried to hook up to the computer and it explains the USB not sufficient and I really admire the holiday screen.HELP.Thanks for your time.

I made doubly sure I had it all typed correctly still getting: error 403 HTTP/ site unavailable. So I loaded it thru the Desktop manager. It worked but the date shows as Dec. 1st not the 10th. Checked the date and time and it is showing the 10th. Any ideas on correcting this?

I was able to have my Pearl work with OTA, but the date is displaying as "MON, DEC 1" ... my guess is that it's not wrong, but may not have the room needed for the "0" ... my message notification icon is very close to the "1" in the date... (I'm on Sprint) Other than that though, I love it!

I made doubly sure I had it all typed correctly still getting: error 403 HTTP/ site unavailable. So I loaded it thru the Desktop manager. It worked but the date shows as Dec. 1st not the 10th. Checked the date and time and it is showing the 10th. Any ideas on correcting this?

i'll look into the 8700 theme. i think the big there is that the Plazmic theme reader is required (must be downloaded and installed first in order to see the new theme) so it adds a step to the process.

will check with the boys and see if they can pump out an 8700 one for all ya 8700 users out there.

just put it on my Curve. Works BEAUTIFULLY. application screen is a bit busy with old mr. crackberry snowman in the background, but he looks good to me and is worth having there. i mainly use my zen 4 apps anyways so its perfect for me.

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